A Jewish look at Afterlife

Let's take three people.

A person that takes their whole life to learn to play a classical instrument.
A person that knows who Mozart is because they watched a movie and liked it.
A person that hates classical music.

Jewish thought on what happens when we die is very different from the hell and heaven concept that most people embrace. Now take these three people and put them in the same symphony and they will each have their own experience. To one it will be pure bliss and they will play a long because they can. The second person may be apathetic because it's just music without words. The third person will be in sheer agony because they despise this type of noise.

I also look at it like being on an alien planet where you don't know the language and neither do the natives know your language. You would struggle with getting your needs met. You would be filled with fear with the foreign customs. It wouldn't necessarily be a bad or dangerous place, it would simply be strange.

Picture a small child taken to Disney Land. For most people, Disney land is a terrific fantasy when everything is perfect and dream like. A small child would be frightened by a life-size Lion from Lion King or by a giant mouse with white gloves when that same mouse and lion were tiny on a television screen and one-dimensional. That same child might not find pleasure in flying tea-cups as the feeling of flying might be too new and scary. It can be overwhelming. So a good parent would prepare their child by talking about what it will be like, showing a brochure from the travel agent and watching the actual videos from Disneyland. It builds the child's excitement and anticipation.

In order to prepare for the afterlife, you must embrace Torah and become familiar with your Creator's Will so that you won't be surprised with His way of living.

From an early age, I have seen the afterlife like a flame. Hashem is like the sun to me. You take each individual spark or flame and place the flame in each soul. You have the choice to nurture and nourish that flame and watch it last and grow or it can be dulled with lack of oxygen and pollution. Then when it is time to return to the Origin your spark joins the whole. I am still trying to understand whether the spark could be extinguished completely but lets focus on nurturing His light in us so that can be a moot issue.